Proper Cantonese pronunciation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Jyutping is used as the pronunciation guide in this article
From the 1980s onwards, the proper Cantonese pronunciation has been much promoted in Hong Kong, with the scholar Richard Ho Man Wui as the iconic campaigner.
The very idea of "proper" pronunciation of Standard Cantonese is controversial, as there is no such a thing as "mispronunciation" in the science of linguistics.
The "proper" readings promoted by Richard Ho are based on the fanqie spelling of Guangyun, an ancient rime dictionary reflecting the sounds of Middle Chinese. Ho holds that there should be regular correspondance between the sounds of Middle Chinese and those of Cantonese. When the Cantonese pronunciation of a certain character does not correspond to that of Middle Chinese, he labels that as "vulgar" or "wrong". He allows exceptions in some cases, though.
The promotion of "proper" Cantonese pronunciation is partly a reaction to the so-called "lazy sound" (懶音 laan5yam1) adopted by the younger generations. The "lazy" pronunciations, or sound changes include:
- merge of initial n- and l-, for example, reading 男 (naam4) as 藍 (laam4)
- loss of initial ng-, for example, reading 我 (ngo5) as o5.
- omission of the labialisation -w- of gw- or kw-, for example, reading 國 (gwok3) as 角 (gok3).
- confusing the final consonants -k and -t, for example, reading 塞 (sak1) as sat1, or -n and -ŋ, for example, reading 冷 (laaŋ5) as 懶 (laan5)
- confusing the vowelized consonants m and ŋ, for example, reading 吳 (ŋ4) as 唔 (m)
Ho's approach to pronunciation is prescriptive. For instance, talking about the "wrong" pronunication of final consonants of the youth, he says:
| “ | In general, today's youth pronounce the final consonants in the wrong way because they have since childhood imitated unconsciously the wrong pronunciations of the broadcasters and artists, and those of their seniors and friends. Fortunately, there are still some families who insist on proper pronunciation. Therefore, the wrong pronunciations have not spreaded to the whole society, and there is still a ray of hope to right the wrongs." (現在，一般年輕人錯誤的韻尾發音，主要是從小不自覺模仿播音員、藝員、長輩或朋輩的錯誤發音所造成的。幸好有些家庭堅守發音要正確的原則，這種錯誤發音才不至於擴散到整個社會，使撥亂反正仍有一線希望。) (Ho 2001:33) | ” |
TV and radio programs, including game shows, have been made to promote the proper pronunciation. The campaign has also influenced the local media. Some news reporters and masters of ceremonies in Hong Kong have adopted the "proper" pronunciations.
[edit] See also
- A Chinese Syllabary Pronounced according to the Dialect of Canton [1] by Wong Shik Ling, a pronunciation guide of Cantonese championed by Richard Ho
[edit] References
- Ho Man Wui (2001). Yueyin Zixue Tigang (粤音自學提綱 "An outline for the self-study of Cantonese pronunciation"). Hong Kong: Xianggang Jiaoyu Tushu Gongsi.
[edit] External links
- (Chinese) Cantonese Culture Promotion Society, an anti-"proper pronunciation" organization, with related articles criticizing the idea of "proper pronunciation"
- (Chinese) The Association for the Promotion of Proper Cantonese Pronunciation
- (Chinese) A TV show of TVB promoting the "proper" pronunciation and the "proper" characters
